Mothers in and out of jail: Making and breaking cycles of incarceration

This ethnographic study of mothers in and out of jail examines the obstacles women face when they are released and how their children and other family members are affected. The “war on drugs” has contributed to a nearly seven-fold increase in the number of incarcerated women nationwide over the last 20 years. Current rates of recidivism reveal that at least three out of four released women will be reincarcerated. Because the majority of these women are mothers, the number of children who experience the imprisonment of their mother has multiplied. Separation from their mother is a traumatic experience that increases children's chances of becoming juvenile and/or adult offenders.; For one year, mothers were followed through phases of incarceration, release, and reentry to their communities. Social, psychological, and economic sources of support that foster and hinder women's smooth transition to the “free” world are identified. Services most effective at helping women stay out of jail are discussed including the need for gender specific drug treatment, aftercare, and interventions that help prevent children from continuing intergenerational cycles of addiction and incarceration. Structural, programmatic, and policy changes are recommended to reverse current trends of incarceration. Decarceration for non-violent drug offenders is advocated along with expanded availability of drug treatment, education, job training, and counseling to reduce social and econonnic costs of addiction, recidivism, and incarceration.